Understanding the male orgasm

The male orgasm is well known and often spoken about. We men take it for granted that once we make love then we will “come” and have an orgasm. This is not always true, as some men can fake an orgasm and others cannot have an orgasm and yet others will have one and it is dry. First, we have to acknowledge that an orgasm is like swallowing; it is difficult to control if not involuntary.{{more}} Certainly, after a certain point, it, like swallowing, is involuntary. This is because it is controlled by the involuntary or autonomic/automatic nervous system. This is part of our nervous system that controls our subconscious functions like breathing, swallowing, digestion, circulation and perspiring.

So, what happens when a man comes? First, he is excited, and then he has an erection; sometime after, at the height of excitement, he “comes”. The pleasure that leads excitement to erections comes from the external senses of vision and touch, combined with a little imagination and fantasy. This is reinforced with sensation from the head and shaft of the penis in most men. Some men have other erogenous areas, as discussed in a previous issue.

At this time of “coming”, several things are happening. Just before a man comes, the prostate, testicles and a gland called the seminal vesicle deposit their secretions in the prostatic fossa. This is a hollow area in the urine passage that is surrounded by the prostate and has the ejaculatory ducts and the prostatic ducts. It is important to note that the secretions from all three glands are deposited in this small area. The prostatic secretions are secreted through the prostatic ducts and the secretions from the seminal vesicles and testicles come through the common ejaculatory ducts.

These secretions are then ejected or ejaculated forcefully when an orgasm occurs. This ejection takes place as the involuntary muscles in the prostate contract, squeezing the secretions in the prostate forward as the opening to the prostate from the bladder closes, so the secretions cannot go “backwards”. This backward flow is called retrograde ejaculation. The secretions are then “pushed” forward, further in the urine passage by the involuntary contraction of the muscles surrounding the back of the urine passage, called the bulbospongiosus muscles. These are small strap like muscles taped on to the back of the urine passage, so, when they contract, they squeeze the passage, pushing the secretions forward. All this secreting, contracting and pushing is coordinated by neural centers in the spinal cord and pelvis. The intense feeling of an orgasm comes from the contraction of the prostate and the urine passage coordinating with the pleasure centers of the brain, thus making ejaculation an extremely pleasurable process. This ensures that sexual intercourse is repeated, so that fertilization and procreation can occur. Were it not so pleasurable, then we most likely would be an endangered or extinct specie.

For comments or question contact:
Dr Rohan Deshong
Tel: (784) 456-2785
email: deshong@vincysurf.com